wrestling

It was a special Halloween edition of 'WWE Monday Night Raw' (Mon., 9PM ET on USA), which featured several of the wrestling superstars in costume. But at almost every turn, they were upstaged by the week's special guests.

In anticipation of their return to the silver screen, the Muppets were all over this broadcast. Kermit was getting some love from one of the female wrestlers, while Miss Piggy was getting rebuffed. Animal got to serve as the timekeeper, while Beeker actually impacted the outcome of a match.

Hugh Jackman may have just been a guest on 'WWE Monday Night Raw' (Mon., 9PM ET on USA) this week, but he clearly knows his way around a wrestling ring. Not as a wrestler maybe, but he certainly knew the ropes of being a manager in professional wrestling.

When the referee was distracted ejecting someone else, Jackman applied a classic cheap shot to his guy's opponent, knocking Dolph Ziggler to the mat.

This allowed Zack Ryder to easily take him down and get the win. Afterward, Jackman joined him in the ring to celebrate a "hard-earned" victory, as the sideline announcers praised the sneaky maneuver by their Hollywood guest star.

Wrestling legend "Macho Man" Randy Savage died Friday morning in a car accident after suffering a heart attack while behind the wheel, his brother told TMZ. Lanny Poffo says his brother was driving in Seminole, Florida around 10 AM when the accident occurred. He was 58.

The Florida Highway Patrol later told the website that Savage and his wife, Lynn, were driving their Jeep Wrangler when the car veered across a concrete median, rushed through oncoming traffic and "collided head-on with a tree."

Today in "This is an actual, real-life news story" comes this gem of an article from The Hollywood Reporter: Hulk Hogan has signed on to mentor little-people wrestlers for a new TruTV series called 'Hulk Hogan's MCW.'

The new professional league that Hogan is creating, Micro Championship Wrestling, "aims to 'show the world that little people are serious athletes who have the determination to succeed,'" according to THR. Hogan will be involved in recruitment, training, mentoring and establishing the league as a viable business.

TruTV has ordered six episodes of the new show, which is scheduled to premiere this summer. Hogan is an executive producer on the series.

So, what does Reelz have to say about the conflicting reports? A rep told Vulture, "The numbers we reported yesterday were fast national of average viewers per minute when we add our two showings (8PM East and 8PM West) together, which is the gross audience for an average minute."

Oooookay.

In other TV news ...

• The HBO Films movie about the financial collapse, 'Too Big to Fail,' will debut May 23. It stars William Hurt, Paul Giamatti, Cynthia Nixon, Bill Pullman and more. [HBO]

• Although Snooki's unexpected gymnastic prowess surprised the world after her appearance on Wrestlemania, she says she's done with wrestling. "I'm pretty busy with 'Jersey Shore,' so I doubt [I'll continue]," she said. [The Hollywood Reporter]

• Breaking news: The Science Channel is changing its name ... to plain old Science. In a press release, the network mentioned it wanted to be "the official home of the Thought Provocateur -- the individual who is constantly asking 'What if?' and 'Why not?'" [THR]

If you haven't booked your tickets for Wrestlemania XXVII yet, you might want to. In advance of his new hosting gig for 'WWE Tough Enough' next month, 'Stone Cold' Steve Austin made a surprise appearance on 'Monday Night Raw' (Monday, 9PM ET on USA). In doing so, he secured himself a spot at Wrestlemania.

WWE fans know the 7-foot, 400-plus pound Paul Wight as The Big Show -- one of the most dominant wrestling superstars of the last 15 years.

But through the years, Wight has shown he's not just a looming ogre. He is also a gentle giant with a knack for comedy, appearing regularly on 'Late Night with Conan O'Brien' and stealing scenes with cameos in movies and TV shows.

The Big Show has his first starring role in the upcoming film 'Knucklehead,' the first comedy produced by WWE Studios. To promote the film as well as 'WWE Friday Night SmackDown's' move to the SyFy network, The Big Show talked to TV Squad about getting laughs, his favorite Conan O'Brien moment and kissing dudes.

Jon Stewart goes after both political parties in this clip from last night's episode of 'The Daily Show': Nancy Pelosi, Eric Massa, John Boehner, and several others get some ribbing from Stewart. Then it turns into a discussion of how Washington politics is just like professional wrestling and ends with Stewart on top of his desk pleading for his life.

Dulé Hill is sitting backstage at the Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio a few hours before he'll host 'WWE Monday Night RAW' in front of thousands of screaming Midwesterners and millions of live TV viewers.

New episodes of 'Psych's fourth season resume tonight at 10PM ET on USA. WWE superstar John Cena will guest as Ewan O'Hara, a special ops soldier and brother to Detective Juliet O'Hara (Maggie Lawson). It's a perfect bit of cross-promotion between two USA shows and before Hill got ready to rumble, he spoke to AOL TV about wrestling, romance for his character Gus and improvising with Roday.

Don't worry, wrestling fans: Monday nights will continue to be Raw -- at least through the fall of 2014.

That's because World Wrestling Entertainment and the USA Network have just inked a deal to keep 'WWE Monday Night Raw' on the air through then, the network and wrestling group announced in a press release.

"USA Network is a true partner and not just a network that distributes WWE's premiere television show, 'WWE Monday Night Raw,'" said WWE Chairman, CEO and sometime wrestler Vince McMahon. "I am thrilled to have a long term deal with USA Network."

(S05E07) This episode brought back many things that fans of It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia have already come to know and love: nearly aggressive patriotism, needless shirtnessness, songs sung in falsetto and, of course, Rickety Cricket. I would like to also submit that the Birds of War get-up (pictured above) would be perfect for this Halloween, especially if you're desperate for few high-fives or silent nods of approval. It covers a wide range, as it appeals to both Always Sunny fans and people who like America and/or chickens. I mean, eagles.

OK, I actually loved watching the latest version of American Gladiators on NBC, but even I think this is a weird idea. But it's actually happening. American Gladiators: The Movie is in the works, according to show creator Johnny Ferraro.

Ferraro says American Gladiators was originally conceived as a film more than 20 years ago, but instead became a "TV phenomenon." I'm not sure how a game show that's basically WWE Smackdown meets Double Dare was originally conceived as a film, but what do I know. I like to watch American Gladiators.

In a move that has me shaking my head, Freddy Prinze, Jr. will be working behind the scenes at World Wrestling Entertainment for both their television product and pay-per-views. I recognize that wrestling is a big industry and Freddy's movie career hasn't been exactly stellar as of late (I'm sure he's done movies, but none I've heard of), but wrestling?

"Bringing on board an experienced Hollywood writer, actor and producer like Freddie Prinze Jr. will only increase the level of entertainment to millions of viewers and passionate WWE fans every Monday on USA," said Chris McCumber, Executive Vice President Marketing Digital and Brand Strategy at USA Network.